Tulip Magnolia Preparation

Background of Tulip Magnolias

Frisk Film Preparation

To have freedom to do successive layers of color in the background of this painting I used Frisk Film to protect the blossoms and branches. Frisk Film is used by air brush artists. The film is cut to cover the area to be protected. When using it with watercolor, the film is cut about an eighth of an inch inside the outer line of the blossoms. The black line seen in the image is the black sharpie pen line inside the blossom. That line is the guide when cutting the film. The edges of the Frisk Film must be sealed with liquid Frisket. The Frisket is applied to cover the area between the edge of the Frisk Film to the outer line of the blossoms. If there is a spot that is not covered completely, watercolor may seep through when applying a wash on the background. I learned this method from Elizabeth Kincaid several years ago in Santa Cruz, California. Elizabeth is the master of this method. Her work is very special. Check it out.

Tulip Magnolias

Here is the latest painting, Tulip Magnolias. The background was done with repeated light washes of cobalt blue, French ultramarine blue, and a bit of the quinacridone rose that was used in the blossoms. These delicate pigments do not show up as well in this image or in a print as they do in the original painting. Check out Tulip Magnolia preparation to view the Frisk Film method of protecting the blossoms while applying background washes.

One Yellow Rose

Another painting! So far, 2011 has been more productive than the last few months of 2010. I am thankful for each painting I am able to finish.

I saw this rose while visiting in Los Gatos last year. I cropped the photo to focus on the one blossom. Yellow is difficult to paint because it has such a limited value range. There are many different yellow tints in this painting. Those yellows were hard to capture with the camera. Nothing came close to the actual painting.